Photo by P. Danado, F.Z.S., Regent's Park.
MASKED BUG.
The larvæ of these insects cover themselves with dust, in order to creep upon their prey unnoticed.
After these insects come the Water-bugs, of which there are several families, though the number of species is comparatively small. Some are very slender insects, with long, slender legs, and may be seen running on the surface of ponds in England; while others, which are tropical species, are marine, and are met with running on the surface of the water in the open sea.
The largest members of the group are some of the great water-bugs found in Africa, India, and America. Their fore wings are of a light brown, and measure from 3 to 5 inches in expanse. Their legs are short and strong, and the front legs are adapted for grasping their prey, which consists of insects and small fishes. There are some smaller species in which the female lays her eggs in a cluster on the back of the male, which carries them about till they are hatched. These bugs fly about in the evening, and are frequently attracted by electric light.
In England there are two allied species called Water-scorpions, from their long front legs, which somewhat resemble the nippers of a scorpion. The commonest is a brown insect, with the abdomen red beneath. It is about an inch long, including the breathing-tube, which sticks out behind the body like a tail, and is formed of two separable parts. It is an oval insect, half as broad as long, and is common in stagnant water. The other species is twice as long, and is much more slender, with longer and more slender legs. It is yellowish brown, like most of the other water-bugs, and is a sluggish and rather scarce insect, creeping about in the mud at the bottom of deeper water than that preferred by the commoner species.
The Water-boatmen are yellowish-brown insects, measuring half an inch in length, with smooth bodies, and long, hairy hind legs, with which they row themselves about on the water, as if with oars, while floating on their backs. All the larger water-bugs are capable of inflicting a severe puncture with their sharp proboscis, if handled incautiously.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.] [Regent's Park.